Much time and attention has been focused this last decade on the construction of new theatres and auditoriums, all of which employ the latest building techniques both in the building itself and for the stage and backstage areas. Mention can be made of the Uris Theatre in New York City, the Davies Hall, the new home of the San Francisco Symphony, and the Convention Centre in Sacramento, just to name a few. One of the few areas that has not been improved is the safety lighting for the steps found in the various theatres and auditoriums. Some theatres employ a low wattage bulb fixture at the side of a seat every few rows. This concept is at least thirty years old. Others employ a recess in the riser of a step with a small bulb in a fixture with a metal slotted grate with downwardly angles louversto light a step. Such fixtures are employed every six or seven rows, more or less. Such fixtures suffer several disadvantages. Firstly, they light small areas only. Secondly, they don't light every step, and thirdly, the grates or louvers get warm to the touch from the heat generated. In addition, elderly persons frequently trip on them, and ladies wearing dresses can either snag their stockings or perhaps "toast" their ankles on them as they descrend or ascend slow moving stair ways or row inclines of several steps.
Thus, there is a need for a new, safe, low cost safety lighting system for theatres and auditoriums.